Minot’s 2023 Dinner on the Prairie event was recognized as “Chamber Event of the Year” at the 2024 Mid-America Chamber Executives Conference held this month in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

More than 230 guests experienced the event on Aug. 1, 2023, which was made possible by the event co-chairs Fred Beuchler and Bonnie Scheresky, the Minot Area Chamber EDC Agribusiness Committee, volunteers and supporters.

Mid-America Chamber Executives (MACE) is made up of chamber professionals who belong to their state chamber executive organization or state chamber of commerce in the six-state area of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

“The Minot Area Chamber EDC is proud to host an event that helps bring understanding about one of our most important industries to individuals who might otherwise not experience agriculture up close. Knowing that we were able to help cultivate community, build new relationships and honor our ag personnel is an award itself, but we’re delighted that so many skilled chamber professionals could see the magic in our event,” said Brekka Kramer, Minot Area Chamber EDC president and CEO, who accepted the award.

Dinner on the Prairie is a farm-to-table signature event created as an opportunity for local ag producers to share a multicourse meal, conversation and education with Minot community members not connected with agriculture. The meal featured menu items made with North Dakota-grown products, many from the local region, and each table included an agriculture expert to help answer questions and share experiences about their day-to-day processes.

The event included educating new audiences on the importance of agriculture through sample crops, agricultural and food facts, a panel with producers and 40 farmers and ranchers from various areas of North Dakota agriculture who answered questions about their products, their jobs, their farms and inquiries guests had about how food is produced and where it comes from.